Puppy Vaccination Schedule: When Your Dog Needs Their Shots

You care about your new puppy and you'll do anything you can to help care for them. This means providing routine preventive care to protect them from serious diseases. Our Wake Forest vets talk about why your dog needs their shots and what the puppy vaccination schedule looks like.

Puppy Vaccinations

Just like the case of vaccines designed for use by people, puppy vaccinations in the Wake Forest area help to protect your pet from many serious, and potentially fatal diseases that are entirely preventable and illnesses that spread easily between dogs while they are socializing.

While it may seem inconvenient (and even a bit expensive) to bring your new puppy into your vet's office frequently throughout their first year, your puppy's first vaccinations and their renewals each year are critical to protecting them from illness and setting them up for long, healthy and happy lives. 

What Do Puppy Vaccinations Help Protect Against?

The vaccines recommended for puppies and adult dogs in the Wake Forest area help prevent and reduce the severity of illnesses like parvovirus, hepatitis, distemper, bordetella and rabies. 

Our vets will be able to recommend a set of vaccinations that are the most appropriate for your dog based on their age, the area you live, your dog's lifestyle and other factors. 

Recommended Puppy Vaccination Schedule

The following is the schedule of vaccinations recommended for your puppy during their first few months and the booster shots required for an adult dog throughout their life. By following these schedules of puppy shots and adult dog vaccine boosters, our vets firmly believe that you will be giving your beloved canine companion their best shot at good health and well-being all throughout their life. 

Potential Puppy Vaccination Side Effects

Side effects of vaccines are quite common, including cold-like symptoms, mild fevers or lethargy. If your puppy is experiencing any of these symptoms after receiving their vaccinations then you can rest easy knowing that these are the expected side effects.

However, some dogs may have serious allergic reactions to getting their shots. This is generally because of sensitivity to a specific ingredient in a vaccine. These reactions are not standard to breed or vaccine and may depend on your dog—although certain breeds can be predisposed to allergies to certain vaccines. 

Some breeds like collies, sheepdogs and German Shepherds are known to be predisposed to more significant reactions to some vaccines. Your vet will be sure to skip any vaccines that your dog may be sensitive or allergic to.

If your dog does have a reaction to a vaccination, take them into your vet as soon as possible and make note of the kind of vaccination they received. This will be important information to keep on hand if you move or switch vets in the future. 

Why Puppy Vaccinations Are Important 

Without vaccinations, you leave your puppy at risk of contracting a variety of serious and potentially fatal diseases that are entirely preventable.

By bringing your dog in for their shots early in their life, you are setting them up to rests serious diseases that may prey on them while their immune systems are still developing. And then, by continuing this practice into their adult life, you help ensure that they avoid serious health issues all throughout their life. 

Maintaining the schedule of vaccinations recommended by our Wake Forest vets will not only protect your pup's health but will help to save you time and money in the long run by avoiding more serious veterinary visits (or even emergencies) in the future.

By ensuring that your puppy has received their vaccinations and all recommended preventive veterinary care you are not only protecting your puppy from illness down the road but also saving yourself from managing a far more expensive situation.

Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition, please make an appointment with your vet.